In the world of gymnastics, there are two types of athletes, one who delivers the power and the other who paints with an artist’s brush.

When Kenosha Combined Gymnastics coach Melissa Olson combines both types, she gets three Westosha Central High School representatives, all in their first year on the team after spending several years at Scamps Gymnastics club in Kenosha.

The three representatives consist of juniors Megan Zeller and Katy Farrell along with sophomore Trinity Alexander.

“Megan brings the power, she is our powerhouse, Trinity brings the artistic side, like dance and jumps while Katy also brings the power,” said Olson, who is in her first year as coach, replacing Nikki Cooper.

Collectively, the three gymnasts wanted to join Kenosha Combined for a stronger team atmosphere and to represent their school.

According to Alexander, who was the last Westosha Central representative to join, she saw it as an opportunity to bolster her high school experience.

“I knew a lot of people coming in to join the team and it is about the high school experience,” said Alexander. “Kenosha Combined is way more of a team, we are all friends, Scamps is more individual and you are not as close with your teammates.”

Alexander, according to Olson, has filled in nicely with her artistry on the floor.

“She has been filling in nicely and is really artistic,” said Olson.

“The floor is my favorite event because I love to dance and tumble,” Alexander said.

While Alexander enjoys the floor exercise, she has contributed to the team in other events, notably the vault where she notched an 8.35 in the Feb. 1 quadrangular with Arrowhead, FMOW, and Mukwonago.

Overcoming adversity
Meanwhile, for Farrell and Zeller, the juniors overcame obstacles and saw Kenosha Combined as a way to recover from past injuries.

Zeller, an all-around performer and transfer from St. Joseph’s Catholic School, took a year off from the sport to recover from a wrist injury.

Since Zeller’s arrival, she is returning to form, notably in the vault where she notched a 9.225 at a Jan. 25 triangular. She finished third in the all-around at 34.75.

Additionally, Zeller garnered a medal in the event at 8.975 at the Feb. 3 Kenosha Invite, where she scored an 8.975 and narrowly missed an all-around medal, coming up 0.55 short of fifth place.

“Right now, I really love the vault,” Zeller said. “I feel like I am pretty powerful there and solid. Then I love the floor. I love cheering on my teammates. The energy is there.”

Olson agreed, adding the floor exercise is Zeller’s next best event, noting her power.

“The vault is definitely her strong suit and she is pretty great on the floor with her power,” said Olson, who believes the junior can grow on the uneven bars and balance beam.

Zeller, who followed Farrell onto the team, believes she can rebound from her wrist injury as a member of Kenosha Combined.

“Scamps was a lot more competitive, and a lot more hours at practice, KCG is a little laid back, but you get your skills back,” said Zeller, who also swims for the Lake Geneva Badger co-op team. “I got to come in with a lot of my friends from school and from Scamps.”

Farrell, a gymnast since she was two years old, had a similar experience.

“I decided to make the change because of injuries,” said Farrell, who wore a boot for about five months. “It was taking a really long time to heal, so I just decided I couldn’t handle (club) anymore.”

The decision, she said, has been beneficial.

“It has been really fun, you meet a lot of interesting people, and it is more of a team-based environment instead of individual,” she said. “We come from a bunch of different schools so we are working on becoming one.”

Olson said Farrell has shown the most promise in the vault where she can utilize her strength.

Farrell’s strength helped at the Feb. 1 quadrangular where she notched an 8.25 in both the vault and beam.

“Katy is a powerhouse on the vault,” Olson said. “We like having Katy on the vault.”

“I really enjoy doing the vault, it is my best event, and next best is probably on the floor,” Farrell said.

Future development
For Olson, having the three arrive as underclassmen gives her reasons for optimism in the future, including further growth.

“As a collective group, they are awesome, they are really hard workers, they are good teammates,” Olson said. “It is definitely great that we have at least one more year with them. They are leaders.”

The extra year, she said, also gives them more time to adjust to high school competition, which is a different compared to club gymnastics.

“They got their feet wet this year and they now know what to expect,” she said.

Along with clear expectations, it brings another benefit, more school spirit.

“It kind of brings in the school atmosphere and the school spirit and that is big for the girls,” she said.

The three gymnasts’ arrival also gives Westosha Central its first representatives since 2016, when Sydney Rau, Autumn Elfering, Lexie Biggs and Triana Rudd were on the team.